Jang Bori Is Here! - Episode 17 (KimJiCap)
This is a serious episode, with lots of break-ups of not-yet-formed couples. We're sloooooooowly edging towards the truth, but the steps are so small, it's hard to notice. Also: new hair is in our future! In general, I demand more Jae-hwa - and more Jae-hwa/Bori interactions. In general, this week's episodes don't really deliver on that. Oh well, there's over 30 episodes left, so ...
JoAnne: I'm going to be so old. I'm going to be so old and so dead by the time anything happens that I want to see, like Jae Hwa be sexy, or Bori learn to modulate her tone of voice, or Big Kang put major mack daddy moves on Auntie, or that goddamn hateful Min Jung midget falls into a man hole that leads straight to hell.
Episode 17
Min-jung came all the way from Seoul to crush Bori's hopes of ever becoming a student at Bi Sool Chae: she tells GooDIL that Matron has no intention of taking Bori as a student (which is, of course, a lie). GooDIL is suspicious about the way Bori addresses Min-jung (as unni), but Bori, still trying to protect that evil witch's secret, pretends it's because she got to know Min-jung at the competition. When the two girls are alone, Min-jung is cruel as always, whereas Bori defends her teacher from Min-jung's venom. She also tells Min-jung that she sews with her heart - like she makes the food for their mother with her heart. That is all. And that is the secret to everything (at least in this show).
JoAnne: Please don't redeem her. Please don't ever. Please let her live out her miserable lonely life alone, with even her plants dying around her and rats refusing to enter her miserable hovel.
GooDIL hears part of the conversation, or rather, doesn't hear. Because you can be sure that people hear things they're not supposed to hear in this drama all the time but they don't hear things they should hear (since they're standing 5 meters away). KDrama logic. After being a terrible bitch and once again insisting Bori almost killed the actress with her dye (I want to slap her so much!!!!) Min-jung goes to the orphanage and donates money and some clothes. In her head, she tells her daughter that this is the last time - she will not look for her ever again. It'd be better for the kiddo that way, yes.
JoAnne: Oh God, yes.
GooDIL, who is still suspicious but not enough, doesn't understand why Bori doesn't even want to try to get into Bi Sool Chae: she is certain that Matron would change her mind if she saw her and her skill. But Bori says she cannot leave here - the baby is ill, her mother needs her, etc. She just can't. She just won't.
JoAnne: Her loyalty and sense of responsibility are admirable. They are. They're just so misplaced, it's very frustrating.
Jae-hwa has packed all his things: he is really going back to Seoul then. Angrily, he looks at the yellow scent-bag he got from Bori and calls her a bad woman. He is about to throw it away when Bori knocks on his door. She has something to say.
JoAnne: Is she going to say it in any way that makes sense or clears up misunderstandings? No, why start now. Then just shut up, BoRi. If you can't tell him the one thing that he needs to hear - you did not give birth to your baby but that doesn't change how much you want to be her mother - then just shut up and go away.
He doesn't want to see her it seems, but finally opens the door when she doesn't go away. She says something about the hanboks and whether he doesn't like them, but it's pretty obvious she isn't there because of that. Does she want to know whether he likes her? Ah, he is so angry: she should have been more careful around a bachelor, he screams.
JoAnne: Don't you think he seems kind of overboard? I mean, he liked her for about 3 days. There was no confession, no dating, no kissing that counted... she never acted like she liked him AT ALL.
kakashi: Yeah, well ... the boy has ISSUES, JoAnne.
But no, that's not it. She wants to know why he wants to know about GooDIL. Yes! Yes! But no ... he is so angry, he just screams at her to get out of his face, didn't she says she didn't know anything about that woman and if he had known she was a mom he would have never associated with her. Don't fool yourself, Pretty. We all know the signs. You're in lurve and it will hurt. He slams the door shut in her face. She curses him a bit outside and then leaves, while he stands in the dark, looking angry but thoughtful, the yellow bag in his hand.
JoAnne: And since she's nine, she has no idea that his anger comes from disappointment because he LIKES her. Sigh.
Bori's real parents have prepared huge banners - with that dye-yard picture on it that Eun-bi drew. They believe that this will help them find Bori. Because she would recognize it immediately when she sees it. Are they going to plaster all of Korea with this? Oh shit ... Min-jung sees the picture and recognizes it! Remember, back in the day, when she took Eun-bi's place at the drawing competition? It's what amnesia-Eunbi taught her. Is she going to piece together the pieces?! Her of all people?! Nooooooo!
JoAnne: Wouldn't it make more sense to put up a picture of Eun-Bi from around the time they lost her?
kakashi: Oh yes. Of course. But ... JoAnne? Since when does this makes SENSU?!
GooDIL is at the doctor's and hears that it's likely that she will lose command of her hand. Also there, in a desperate attempt to get some breast milk for little Bi Dan, is Bori. She chats up every mother with child for it. That's not awkward at all ... A nurse calls security and they drag Bori away. She falls to her knees, many breast-milk bottles fall out of her backpack. When she is frantically collecting the bottles off the floor, GooDIL suddenly appears in front of her; but she doesn't say anything and just leaves. She is angry because Bori is throwing her life away.
JoAnne: Yes, but the poor idiot needs ONE friend, at least.
Jae-hee and BaDIL sign a business contract. Jae-hee wants Bi Sool Chae to do all kinds of things - that modern stuff again! Shoo! Not allowed! Anyway, Jae-hee is totally smitten with Min-jung and he is SO going to hell for that later, I'm sure. While at the company, GooDIL goes to see Bad Dad and lies about both Bori (she says Matron has already turned her down, which is a lie, and one instigated by Min-jung at that) and GooDIL (she says she committed a great sin).
JoAnne: Do you get the feeling that after all this time she sort of believes her own lies?
kakashi: I don't know what this woman is, what she could possibly think or believe. I just know that YOUR boy is so doomed.
Young-sook brings flowers to Jae-hwa's apartment, but the only thing she finds is a letter. In it he tells her he has more important things to do than marriage. She, the prettiest woman in Jangheung, is too good for him. Bye. At the shop, Young-sook cries her eyes out and her mascara away, while Bori stands there and listens to the whole sad story, getting angrier and angrier. Of course, she takes her friends side and runs out to find "Scraps" and drag him back.
But handsome Jae-hwa is already on his way to Seoul. Very angry, even more angry than before, because he now knows Bori lied to him about not knowing GooDIL. When he was packing his things at the office, one of the
clerks told him he had an aunt with a hanbok shop who worked
with a Ms. Song before. And indeed, at the shop, the shopkeeper confirmed over a picture of Aunt that this is indeed the Ms. Song that came to her shop a while ago and that Bori might know because she was with her.
JoAnne: He is indeed handsome. I think that pink material gives him a nice glow.
A bit outside of town, Jae-hwa's car (there's a driver this time) overtakes Bori who immediately starts cursing him. The car stops, Jae-hwa gets out. Yikers. He is angry ... He confronts Bori about her lie. Still protecting GooDIL, she keeps lying and he grabs her by the shoulder, forcefully. Why does she keep lying when this is so important to him?!? Well, dear Jae-hwa ... it would have helped if you would have told her that this is your aunt, one of the only people in the world that you like. But he doesn't say it and Bori continues to lie: she says she once knew her briefly, but now, she is living in Seoul. She doesn't know where. BTW: When Kim Ji-hoon is angry, Kim Ji-hoon is scary.
JoAnne: And she is completely clueless about anything anyway which would probably make it seem even scarier since: unexpected.
Jae-hwa is hugely disappointed in Bori and says a few ugly things. He ends with saying he never wants to see her again, turns around and goes back into his car and locks the door. Bori runs after him and keeps hitting the window, demanding to talk to him more about his treatment of Young-sook, but he barely looks at her anymore. He gets a phone call from his father, too, who tells him he can meet his aunt up in Seoul - he has met her a few days ago and it seemed to him that she wanted to settle in Seoul.
Bori screams after the car, insulting him until she runs out of breath. He sees her in the back mirror and calls her a bad woman again, but then, memories flood him ... all their "moments" together, the good and the bad. I think he has tears in his eyes ... Bori yells that it's totally over between them (yeah, since you never started anything - and why does it take this car forever and ever to get away?), but then, a different set of memories flood her, too. As she starts crying, it starts raining. Awwwwww, you two. This is sad. I liked you better when you were silly.
JoAnne: And I don't buy the angst from either of them. It wasn't developed well, I guess.
kakashi: I didn't mind though I agree it wasn't all too well developed. But you know how you sometimes meet people and you bond, immediately? And then, you have to part ... and you think it's forever? It hurts.
And the next calamity is near: The breast milk Bori collected was bad and the baby has thrown up several times because of it. Bori cries in desperation, her mother hits her, and then Bori runs out to get some medicine for the little one. When she comes back, it's still raining hard, the door is locked - she can't get in. Why? Because Veggie Ahjumma is the worst of the worst.
JoAnne: Anyone ever hear of colic? Or a doctor? You have a baby that can't tolerate breast milk or formula and cries all the time. A baby with existing health issues that may be accompanied by others you don't know about, since her mother squished the bejesus out of her in utero. But no one bothers to actually check with a medical professional. And that bitch Veggie was harsh like that deliberately, to make Bori even more determined to be a good mother.
Luckily, she ends up in front of GooDIL's house, who finds her and talks to her. Can't she rethink her (stupid) decision about not going to Seoul? No, she can't, says Bori: once a mother, always a mother (hahaha, but you're NOT A MOTHER!). Once, she wanted to make hanbok so that her mother could wear something pretty. But now, she wants to make hanbok to earn money for the ear surgery, which the little one needs when she is five. GooDIL hears all that and sighs ... but she also says Bori is no longer her student. Wuuut? But it's not because she is angry - it's because she cannot teach her anything anymore. Bori has understood the most important lesson already: it's about the heart. The needle comes after. And she has to learn the rest from the Master of Bi Sool Chae. But GooDIL can wait - she will be there for Bori until Bi-dan has had the surgery.
JoAnne: Seriously, are they going to start attributing miracles to the really special hanbokkers?
Jae-hwa is home! And look who isn't pleased ..... Second Wife and once-cute Jae-hee. Absolutely thrilled, on the other hand, is little Ga-eul. So, uri Jae-hwa can't be a prosecutor in Seoul right away, cause he first needs to be certified, which means he will hang around the hell house for a while? Also, his Jangheung antics don't really work well in Seoul. Neither does the Satoori. Oups. His brother comments that he must have liked Jangheung much better than expected and asks whether he has broken up well with Do Bori. Of course, says Jae-hwa.
JoAnne: Does it matter that various family members have Young Sook and Bo Ri confused? I can't really guess yet.
kakashi: Maybe because Second Mother thinks she has taken care of things and it's a totally different woman that the shaman meant?
But when Jae-hwa goes to see his heart-broken aunt, who blames him for meeting her Dr. Kang that day on the highway, and starts hitting him, saying all men are bad. He tries to cheer her up by running away from her, yelling "catch me if you can!", but that just brings back memories of him and Bori under that tree by the river. Jae-hwa stops short, and he looks quite pained.
In Jangheung, Young-sook is already over him. She flirts with a veggie farmer and I'm thankful this storyline seems wrapped.
JoAnne: I'm wondering why they ever had it at all.
kakashi: Ah, but she was quite funny, that Young-sook.
And now, everybody (well, not quite) is going to America. Min-jung with Jae-hee's money, Ga-eul because her father wants her to get that degree (and because he thinks she is troubling Little Kang too much). When Veggie Ahjumma finds out, she goes berserk and she and Bori rush to the airport. Also there, the Lees, sending off Ga-eul.
JoAnne: I am so ready for this time jump.
All over the country, the banners for the Eun-bi search go up. Min-jung almost sees the picture, but not quite. Ouf. So she doesn't get to piece things together. Not yet, anyway. Bori arrives at the airport and her and Veggie Ahjumma run ... but then, she sees the picture and stops. Clutching her head, she remembers ... things from her past.
JoAnne: See, a picture of herself would have been ideal.
kakashi: Ah, but we're only on episode 17.
The Rest
BaDIL has bad dreams .... about GooDIL coming back with the emblem and taking her place as Head Seamstress. Buahahaha, please make it true!!
Jung-ran is still heart-broken and all the dancing classes in the world don't help. The animal that Big Kang gave her ... talks back. The thing you tell him. In a high "cute" voice.
JoAnne: I thought it had a voice recorder, hahahahahaha.
kakashi: I have several apps like that (a cat, a giraffe, and hippo). They're funny. Until they're absolutely not!
Little Kang has a very hard time and Big Kang's gangster bros take good care of Jung-ran. It seems Ga-eul was spotted by a talent agent? But we don't get to see anything beyond that - she's going to America now.
AppaNotOppa attacks Min-jung and almost kills her. Of course, people, never do something like that. But ..... well. He fails, is dragged away and screams he will never leave her alone, he will find her in hell and love her psychotically forever. Buahahaha, not funny but so funny.
JoAnne: She actually drove a man crazy.
Comments
Time jump, time jump! Hair-change, hair-change! It's coming. We'll have a lot to talk about ...
JoAnne: Yes, please.
JoAnne: I'm going to be so old. I'm going to be so old and so dead by the time anything happens that I want to see, like Jae Hwa be sexy, or Bori learn to modulate her tone of voice, or Big Kang put major mack daddy moves on Auntie, or that goddamn hateful Min Jung midget falls into a man hole that leads straight to hell.
Min-jung came all the way from Seoul to crush Bori's hopes of ever becoming a student at Bi Sool Chae: she tells GooDIL that Matron has no intention of taking Bori as a student (which is, of course, a lie). GooDIL is suspicious about the way Bori addresses Min-jung (as unni), but Bori, still trying to protect that evil witch's secret, pretends it's because she got to know Min-jung at the competition. When the two girls are alone, Min-jung is cruel as always, whereas Bori defends her teacher from Min-jung's venom. She also tells Min-jung that she sews with her heart - like she makes the food for their mother with her heart. That is all. And that is the secret to everything (at least in this show).
JoAnne: Please don't redeem her. Please don't ever. Please let her live out her miserable lonely life alone, with even her plants dying around her and rats refusing to enter her miserable hovel.
JoAnne: Oh God, yes.
JoAnne: Her loyalty and sense of responsibility are admirable. They are. They're just so misplaced, it's very frustrating.
JoAnne: Is she going to say it in any way that makes sense or clears up misunderstandings? No, why start now. Then just shut up, BoRi. If you can't tell him the one thing that he needs to hear - you did not give birth to your baby but that doesn't change how much you want to be her mother - then just shut up and go away.
JoAnne: Don't you think he seems kind of overboard? I mean, he liked her for about 3 days. There was no confession, no dating, no kissing that counted... she never acted like she liked him AT ALL.
kakashi: Yeah, well ... the boy has ISSUES, JoAnne.
JoAnne: And since she's nine, she has no idea that his anger comes from disappointment because he LIKES her. Sigh.
JoAnne: Wouldn't it make more sense to put up a picture of Eun-Bi from around the time they lost her?
kakashi: Oh yes. Of course. But ... JoAnne? Since when does this makes SENSU?!
JoAnne: Yes, but the poor idiot needs ONE friend, at least.
JoAnne: Do you get the feeling that after all this time she sort of believes her own lies?
kakashi: I don't know what this woman is, what she could possibly think or believe. I just know that YOUR boy is so doomed.
JoAnne: He is indeed handsome. I think that pink material gives him a nice glow.
JoAnne: And she is completely clueless about anything anyway which would probably make it seem even scarier since: unexpected.
JoAnne: And I don't buy the angst from either of them. It wasn't developed well, I guess.
kakashi: I didn't mind though I agree it wasn't all too well developed. But you know how you sometimes meet people and you bond, immediately? And then, you have to part ... and you think it's forever? It hurts.
JoAnne: Anyone ever hear of colic? Or a doctor? You have a baby that can't tolerate breast milk or formula and cries all the time. A baby with existing health issues that may be accompanied by others you don't know about, since her mother squished the bejesus out of her in utero. But no one bothers to actually check with a medical professional. And that bitch Veggie was harsh like that deliberately, to make Bori even more determined to be a good mother.
JoAnne: Seriously, are they going to start attributing miracles to the really special hanbokkers?
JoAnne: Does it matter that various family members have Young Sook and Bo Ri confused? I can't really guess yet.
kakashi: Maybe because Second Mother thinks she has taken care of things and it's a totally different woman that the shaman meant?
JoAnne: I'm wondering why they ever had it at all.
kakashi: Ah, but she was quite funny, that Young-sook.
And now, everybody (well, not quite) is going to America. Min-jung with Jae-hee's money, Ga-eul because her father wants her to get that degree (and because he thinks she is troubling Little Kang too much). When Veggie Ahjumma finds out, she goes berserk and she and Bori rush to the airport. Also there, the Lees, sending off Ga-eul.
JoAnne: I am so ready for this time jump.
JoAnne: See, a picture of herself would have been ideal.
kakashi: Ah, but we're only on episode 17.
The Rest
BaDIL has bad dreams .... about GooDIL coming back with the emblem and taking her place as Head Seamstress. Buahahaha, please make it true!!
Jung-ran is still heart-broken and all the dancing classes in the world don't help. The animal that Big Kang gave her ... talks back. The thing you tell him. In a high "cute" voice.
JoAnne: I thought it had a voice recorder, hahahahahaha.
kakashi: I have several apps like that (a cat, a giraffe, and hippo). They're funny. Until they're absolutely not!
AppaNotOppa attacks Min-jung and almost kills her. Of course, people, never do something like that. But ..... well. He fails, is dragged away and screams he will never leave her alone, he will find her in hell and love her psychotically forever. Buahahaha, not funny but so funny. JoAnne: She actually drove a man crazy.
Comments
Time jump, time jump! Hair-change, hair-change! It's coming. We'll have a lot to talk about ...
JoAnne: Yes, please.